The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2012
- Class:
- 1993
A four-time All-American, three-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national champion and two-time Southwest Conference doubles champion, Vickie Paynter-Finney helped lead Texas to its first NCAA tennis team title in 1993. She still holds the school career mark for doubles winning percentage (.866) and the single-season record for highest doubles winning percentage (.946 in 1992 while playing alongside Susan Gilchrist), and ranks second in school history in career doubles wins (110) and third in career singles victories (124). As a freshman in 1990, Paynter-Finney led Texas to a 26-5 record and the NCAA Semifinals. In the fall of her junior year, she teamed with Gilchrist to win the doubles title at the 1991 ITA All-American Championship. Paynter-Finney and Gilchrist also claimed doubles titles later that year at the 1992 ITA National Indoor Championship and the 1992 Southwest Conference Championship and finished as the doubles runners-up at the 1992 NCAA Championship. During the spring season, she paced the Longhorns to a 25-3 mark and a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship. Texas defeated five-time defending national champion Stanford (5-3) on its home courts in the NCAA Semifinals, snapping the Cardinal’s 53-match home win streak. She earned ITA All-America honors in both singles and doubles as a junior. Paynter-Finney capped her collegiate career in style, leading UT to a 25-4 record and its first NCAA team title during her senior season in 1993. She and Gilchrist clinched Texas’ 5-2 victory against Stanford in the NCAA Championship match with a win at No. 1 doubles. Paynter-Finney and Gilchrist repeated as doubles champions at the 1993 ITA National Indoor Championship and the 1993 Southwest Conference Championship and finished as the doubles runners-up for the second straight year at the NCAA Championship. She again received ITA All-America honors in both singles and doubles and claimed the ITA Southwest Region Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award following her senior season. During her collegiate career, Paynter-Finney helped UT capture three SWC regular season crowns (1990, 1992 and 1993) and four consecutive SWC Tournament titles (1990-93). She graduated from The University of Texas in 1993 with a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems. Following graduation, Paynter-Finney competed in the professional ranks and reached as high as No. 103 in the WTA doubles rankings and No. 311 in the WTA singles rankings. She reached the doubles semifinals at a pair of WTA Tier II and Tier IV events and won one singles title and nine doubles titles on the ITF Satellite/Challenger circuit. Paynter-Finney played in all four Grand Slam events (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open) and notched doubles victories against Martina Navratilova, Zina Garrison, Katrina Adams and Meredith McGrath. After her playing career concluded, she sat on the Board of the Texas Tennis and Education Foundation in 2006. Paynter-Finney was inducted into the Morris Hills Regional District Hall of Fame in 2011, an honor recognizing past graduates of Morris Knolls High School (Rockaway, N.J.) who went on to make significant contributions to their community in the areas of leadership, service and integrity. She served as senior web developer at drkoop.com and later as web department manager with Future Protocol, Inc. Paynter-Finney is co-owner and Chief Development Officer for Dot Command Center, a technology consulting firm. She currently runs the web division of Dot Command Center, Inc. with her partner and husband, Rich Finney. The couple lives in Austin with their three children, Jon, Alexia and Jack.
